America Supports You: New Housing Facility Welcomes Wounded Warriors

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

July 17, 2008 - Servicemembers being treated at military medical facilities in the national capital region now can recuperate with their families thanks to one group's ingenuity and the generosity of corporate donors. Operation Homefront welcomed wounded warriors from Walter Reed Army Medical Center here and the National Naval Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md., to its new transitional housing facility July 15. The facility offers rent-free, fully furnished two- and three-bedroom apartment units.

"Operation Homefront provides tremendous aid to all servicemembers and their families," said Army Maj. Gen. Patricia Horoho, commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. "[The organization] knows how to harness the generosity of so many in the community and then quickly take action to fulfill individual or community needs."

The "OH Villages," as they are called, also feature extensive community centers, play space for children, and computers with specialized software to accommodate disabilities. Counselors are available to assist with filing benefit claims and educational needs, including scholarships and college enrollment, as well as to help servicemembers train for and find good-paying jobs.

"Servicemembers and their families are a proud 'can do' group who apply to Operation Homefront out of genuine financial need," said Mark Smith, president and chief executive officer of Operation Homefront. "This is where they can begin to build a real future for themselves and their families."

The villages are open to wounded servicemembers receiving treatment at a nearby military hospital. Those who will be medically discharged or retire within six months also are eligible, and they may stay up to two years after that occurs. Full eligibility guidelines for the villages can be found on the Operation Homefront Web site.

The Washington-area project follows the success of Operation Homefront Village-San Antonio, which opened earlier this year near Brooke Army Medical Center. Both projects were possible thanks to large corporate donations, Smith said.

"Bank of America believes in investing in the communities in which we live and work," said Patrick Rainey, Military Segment Executive for Bank of America. "We are proud to support an initiative that is giving back to the men and women who have sacrificed a great deal for our country. This facility will afford our veterans what is needed most: the support of loved ones nearby."

For defense contractor Lockheed Martin, helping make the facility a reality was a gesture of thanks for what servicemembers do on America's behalf.

"Lockheed Martin never forgets the sacrifices made by our servicemembers and the debt that we owe them for our freedom," said Robert J. Stevens, Lockheed Martin president and CEO. "With this project, we are honored to assist our wounded warriors as they make the transition back to civilian life."

Operation Homefront, a troop-support organization that provides emergency assistance and morale to our troops and their families, is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.

MILITARY CONTRACTS July 17, 2008

Navy

Canadian Commercial Corp., General Dynamics Land Systems, Canada, Ontario, Canada, is being awarded $552,081,274 for delivery order #0004 under previously awarded firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-07-D-5028) for the purchase of 773 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles with Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) upgrades and associated Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) costs. Work will be performed in South Africa (57 percent); Lansing, Mich. (22 percent) and Anniston, Ala. (21 percent), and work is expected to be completed no later than Dec. 2009. Contract funds will not expire by the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with nine offers received via Navy Electronic Commerce Office. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

Raytheon Co., Fullerton, Calif., is being awarded a cost-plus-incentive-fee contract with award fee provisions for a total estimated value of $232,767,343 for the System Development and Demonstration of the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS), including the delivery of eight fully functional Ship System Engineering Development Models and four Aircraft System Test Avionics Sets. Work will be performed in Fullerton, Calif., (45 percent); Cedar Rapids, Iowa, (38 percent); Indianapolis, Ind., (7 percent); Long Beach, Calif., (5 percent); Richardson, Texas, (3 percent); Woodland Hills, Calif., (1.8 percent); and Virginia Beach, Va. (0.2 percent), and work is expected to be completed in Sept. 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals, with two offers received. The Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity (N00019-08-C-0034).

BRDC a Joint Venture, Large, Pa., Islands Mechanical Contractor, Inc., Middleburg, Fla., PAE Government Services, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., Ratcliff Construction, Inc., Orange Park, Fla., TolTest, Inc., Maumee, Ohio, are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity multiple award design-build construction contract for general building type projects at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay. The work to be performed is for general building projects including new construction, renovation, alteration, and repair of facilities and infrastructure, roofing, demolition, and routine renovation. Each contract consists of a base year and four option years for a maximum of 60 months or a maximum value of $100,000,000 for all contracts, whichever comes first with a guaranteed minimum of $10,000 for each contract. The aggregate of $100,000,000 will potentially be shared among all four contractors. BRDC a Joint Venture is being awarded the initial task order in the amount of $632,646 (including the minimum guarantee) for the design and construction of a new Temporary J6 Admin Facility with a gross building area of approximately 4900 square feet at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by Jun. 2009. The remaining four contractors are being awarded the minimum guarantee of $10,000. Work will be performed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and work is expected to be completed Jul 2009 (Jul. 2013 with options). Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The basic contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with seven proposals received. These five contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity (contract numbers N69450-08-D-1279/1280/1281/1282/1283).

BAE Systems Land & Armaments, LP. Ground Systems Division, York, Pa., is being awarded $60,252,370 for delivery order #0009 under previously awarded firms-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-07-D-5025) for the purchase of 36 United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Category I vehicles including technical insertion engineering change proposals (ECPs), two RG33 MRAP Category II vehicles including technical insertion ECPs and two RG33 MRAP Category II Ambulance vehicles including technical insertion ECPs. Work will be performed in York, Pa., and is expected to be completed Mar. 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with nine offers received via Navy Electronic Commerce Office. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

I Garcia Construction, Inc.*, Fresno, Calif., is being awarded $6,789,000 for firm-fixed price Task Order #0005 under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award construction contract (N62473-07-D-2009) for the design and construction of the renovation of the Marine Corps Reserve Center (MCRC) San Bruno, Calif. The work to be performed provides for life safety, antiterrorism/force protection, and security improvements to the Center. Work will be performed in San Bruno, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Jul. 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The original contract was competitively procured via the Naval Facilities Engineering Command e-solicitation website with 12 proposals received and award made on Dec. 21, 2006. The total combined maximum for all contracts awarded is $100,000,000. The multiple contractors (five in number) may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the existing contract. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.

Air Force

The Air Force is modifying a cost plus award fee, cost plus fixed fee, cost plus incentive fee, firm fixed price contract with Lockheed Martin Space Systems Corp., of Sunnyvale, Calif., not to exceed $119,160,000. This action will provide Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite Communications System, which provides secure, survivable communications to the U.S. war-fighters during all levels of conflict and is the protected backbone of the Department of Defense Military Satellite Communications architecture. This contract action is for the advance procurement of long-lead parts of the AEHF Satellite Vehicle 4 in FY08. Advance procurement ensures that parts with significant lead times will be in place to begin SV4 full production on schedule. This action is an in-scope modification and will be awarded as an undefinitized contract action. At this time $59,580,000 has been obligated. MCSW/PK, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity (F04701-02-C-0002, P00315).

Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio, is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for an estimated $12,693,336. This contract action will provide operational test and evaluation, of Chemical Biological Radiology Nuclear Defense secure battle space management information and warning and reporting systems, and related contamination avoidance, collective and individual protection, decontamination, and medical and health services materials, equipment, and systems, and validate their performance against published Chemical Biological Defense operational requirements. At this time $217,392 has been obligated. 55th Contracting Squadron, 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-00-D-3180, DO: 0561).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Sage Energy Trading, LLC, Tulsa, Okla.*, is being awarded a maximum $81,664,374.89 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for direct supply natural gas delivery. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Federal Civilian Agencies. This proposal was originally Web solicited with 37 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance is Sept. 30, 2010. The contracting activity is Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-08-D-7501).

Army

EBV Explosives Environmental Co., Joplin, Mo., was awarded on Jul. 15, 2008, a $15,301,687 firm-fixed price contract for demilitarization of multiple launch rocket system M26 basic rocket and/or compounds. Work will be performed in Joplin, Mo., and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Seven bids were solicited on Dec. 21, 2007, and three bids were received. U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-08-C-0398).

ILC Dover, Inc., Frederica, Del., was awarded on Jul. 16, 2008, an $11,645,635 firm-fixed price contract for faceblanks, nosecups, eye lens retainer rings, front voicemitters and external drink tubes. Work will be performed in Frederica, Del., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One bid was solicited on Jun. 17, 2008. U.S. Army TACOM, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52H09-08-C-0139).

Soldiers Missing From The Vietnam War Are Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Chief Warrant Officer Bobby L. McKain, of Garden City, Kan.; and Warrant Officer Arthur F. Chaney, of Vienna, Va., both U.S. Army. McKain will be buried on Aug. 11 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., and Chaney will be buried Sept. 16 in Arlington.

Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.

On May 3, 1968, these men flew an AH-1G Cobra gunship on an armed escort mission to support a reconnaissance team operating west of Khe Sanh, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Their helicopter was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, exploded in mid-air and crashed west of Khe Sanh near the Laos-Vietnam border. The crew of other U.S. aircraft flying over the area immediately after the crash reported no survivors, and heavy enemy activity prevented attempts to recover the men's bodies.

In 1985, an American citizen with ties to Southeast Asian refugees turned over to U.S. officials human remains supposedly recovered from an AC-130 aircraft crash in Laos. While subsequent laboratory analysis disproved the association of the remains to the AC-130 crash, some of the remains were those of McKain and Chaney.

Between 1989 and 2003, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) investigative teams working in Laos and Vietnam made five attempts to locate the crew's crash site, but could not confirm the location.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in identifying the remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

Face of Defense: Soldier Focuses on Comrades' Nutrition

By Army Pfc. Michael Schuch
Special to American Forces Press Service

July 16, 2008 - Army Staff Sgt. Colin Goldson gladly takes on the difficult, tiring and endless task of feeding the soldiers and civilians of the 1st Armored Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team. A contracting officer/technical representative and food service specialist, Goldson began his culinary career nearly 25 years ago, and he has been preparing, supervising and serving meals for soldiers for the past 10 years.

Goldson joined the All-Army Culinary Arts Team shortly after beginning his military career. He specialized in hors d'oeuvres and entrees in primarily French cuisine and participated in seven competitions. His skill earned him a silver medal and two bronze medals while serving on the team from 1999 to 2005.

"I live the life of food service because of what it does for our soldiers," said Goldson, a native of Landover, Md. "The food presented to the soldiers can do just as much for morale as receiving mail from family."

Goldson said the health and readiness of each soldier who comes through the dining facility is his responsibility.

"I am a subject-matter expert, not just with the food itself, but keeping track of calories and helping each soldier maintain the proper balance and diet," Goldson said. "Ensuring that the soldiers eat healthy enhances their morale and fitness, sustaining their readiness and ability to fight. The responsibility of keeping our soldiers fit and ready to fight falls directly on the food service specialists like myself."

Goldson ensures Army values and standards are met and that the food is properly prepared, stored and maintained; contractors actually prepare the food. He also works to make each item on the menu visually attractive. When it comes to preparing food for the soldiers, he said, it is about more than just taste and nutrition.

"When most people choose the food they are going to eat, they choose based on what looks most appealing to them rather than the nutritional value," he explained. "By using creativity when preparing the foods, we are able to ensure that each item on the menu appears tasty and attractive to the soldiers."

On an average day, Goldson assists in the preparation of more than 8,000 meals for Forward Operating Base Hammer's residents. Preparing the food, however, is not the most important part to Goldson.

"The most important thing about this job is striving to make everyone happy and continuously improving the quality of the meals we feed our soldiers," he said. "We try to improve not only the quality, but the effect it has on the soldiers by offering a wide variety."

Goldson is highly skilled and talented in the area of culinary arts, and he recently earned his bachelor's degree in psychology.

For now, he continues supervising the kitchen staff, ensuring proper sanitary practices are being kept, and ensuring the food cooked in the kitchens is cooked to nutritional standards.

However, Goldson also has plans after retiring from his military career. He hopes to be either a culinary arts and food services teacher or a psychology teacher.

"I have always wanted to take the role to enhance the capabilities of others," he said. "I believe that you can always use the knowledge you have to advance the skills of others."

(Army Pfc. Michael Schuch serves in the 1st Armored Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)

Pacific Commander, Chinese General Agree to Promote Bilateral Training

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

July 16, 2008 - The top U.S. commander in the Pacific reported today that he and a top Chinese commander agreed last night to work toward bringing their militaries together for two bilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster response exercises. Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, during an address at the Heritage Foundation here, called the informal agreement another sign of the distinct warming of U.S.-Sino relations and increasing Chinese interest in building closer military-to-military ties.

Keating said he and Chinese Lt. Gen. Zhang Qinsheng agreed over dinner last night "to begin active consideration" of a plan to exercise their forces together in a disaster relief scenario. Keating and Zhang, commander of the Guangzhou military Region, discussed the possibility of two exercises, one in China and one in Hawaii or elsewhere in the United States, Keating said.

The exercises probably will be land-based rather than sea-based, bringing additional training elements beyond search-and-rescue and ship maneuvering operations. "We want to expand the envelope, and we want to push the envelope," Keating said.

While hoping to begin the exercises "relatively soon," Keating said, he recognizes that China won't be able to focus on pushing the concept forward at least until the Olympics in August. In addition, Keating cited the need to coordinate within U.S. Defense and State department channels to get the necessary agreements and lay the framework for the training.

But with leaders at both U.S. departments emphasizing the need to move beyond Cold War paradigms toward more positive exchanges with China, Keating expressed optimism the plan will proceed.

"After the Olympics and before the first of the year, we hope to engage in staff talks to lay out a plan," he told reporters today. He expressed hope the military-to-military exercises could begin within 15 to 18 months from last night's handshake.

Keating cited China's acceptance of U.S. military aid following a devastating magnitude 7.9 earthquake that hit the central Sichuan province as a sign of China's increased willingness to engage with the United States. China allowed two U.S. military C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft to deliver generators, chain saws and humanitarian relief supplies.

During his two visits there since arriving at PaCom last year, and in reciprocal Chinese visits in the United States, Keating said, he's seen solid progress in eroding historic divisions. He's "more optimistic" now than a year ago about the state of the two countries' military-to-military relationship, and hopeful that China will engage in more multilateral exercises with the United States and others in the region.

As the U.S., Japanese, Australian, Singaporean and Indian navies gathered for the recent Malabar exercise, Keating said, anyone concluding that the goal was to surround China "is 180 degrees wrong."

"We are not looking to surround them. We want to draw them out," he said. "We want them to join these other countries."

Keating expressed hope that over time, China will participate in more personnel exchanges, and even go so far as to engage on a peaceful basis with Taiwan.

"I think it would be terrific if, over time, we would have Chinese military officers and Taiwan military officers and United States military officers, all sitting in the same classroom at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies," he said.

The United States has sent China "an open invitation" and hopes it will accept, Keating said.

"I don't know if the Chinese will accept the offer tomorrow, but they need to understand, as I have emphasized to them, that the lanai light is always on for them," he said.

Keating said he's convinced that the best way to prevent tensions between the United States and China is through openness that leads to understanding.

"I am firmly convinced we are much better suited as a military and as a country to engage in open dialogue [with China] ... to ensure they understand our motives and we understand theirs," he said.

Pre-eminence, Partnerships Define U.S. Policy in Pacific

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

July 16, 2008 - The top U.S. commander in the Pacific has two buzzwords for U.S. military policy in the region: pre-eminence and partnerships. Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating, who heads U.S. Pacific Command, said today at the Heritage Foundation here that he stresses these two concepts wherever he goes in his area of operations, which covers more than half the world's surface and includes half its population and its five largest armies.

Keating said he wants everyone – friends, allies and potential foes alike – to understand that the United States is the big dog on the block.

"We are the pre-eminent force in the theater, and we will so remain for the near, mid and long term," he said. "So that is an issue with which they need concern themselves."

But while emphasizing U.S. power, Keating said, he emphasizes the importance of partnerships in keeping the Asia-Pacific region secure.

"We do not want to project the image of going it alone in the Pacific," he said. "Quite the contrary. We want to take advantage of the very strong bilateral relationships we enjoy and expand those to multilateral relationships."

As he travels the region, Keating said, he is struck by the vast changes in the past two decades from the days when he "carried bags" as the aide to then-Pacific Command chief Navy Adm. William J. Crowe. The boundaries of the region haven't changed, but Keating said nearly everything else has.

"The countries in it, our strategies, our policies, our posture, our position -- those have changed dramatically," he said.

He said he's struck by the sense among Asia-Pacific countries that the United States has become "the indispensible element" they depend on to ensure regional stability. "It wasn't necessarily that way when I was going to meetings listening to Admiral Crowe," he said.

Whether through formal alliances or partnerships, regional nations recognize the value of their relationships not just with the United States, but also with each other, he said.

That recognition is evident in the growth of military exercise and military-to-military exchanges. The Rim of the Pacific exercise currently under way -- with more than 40 ships, six submarines, 150 aircraft and servicemembers from 10 nations -- holds the title as the world's largest military exercise, Keating said. Five countries and observers from 10 others took part in the recent Cobra Gold exercise in Thailand that focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The recent Malabar exercise in the Bay of Bengal brought together navies from five countries – the United States, Japan, Australia, Singapore and India – for training Keating called "unprecedented in scope and scale and technical challenge."

Keating said he's impressed to see countries in the region forming their own security relationships, with striking results. With training, radar systems and the technology used to integrate them, four countries are working together to enhance maritime security in the strategic Strait of Malacca, he noted. They operate with little direct day-to-day assistance from the United States, and have been able to bring down the incidence of maritime piracy in the region, he said.

"Across the entire region, we are emphasizing partnership," he said. "We are trying to put some teeth in it by encouraging those countries that might not be so anxious to deal with one another to join with us, and we will provide the umbrella under which we all operate."

Keating announced today that he and Chinese Lt. Gen. Zhang Qinsheng, commander of China's Guangzhou military Region, agreed last night to explore ways to exercise their forces together in a disaster relief scenario.

He expressed hope that China will engage with more countries in the region rather than feel threatened by their partnerships.

"We are not looking to surround you," Keating said he told Chinese senior leaders. "We want to draw you out and not fence you in."

Gates Highlights Role of Diplomacy, Development in U.S. Foreign Policy

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

July 16, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates yesterday said diplomacy and development should lead American efforts abroad, and he warned against a "creeping militarization" of U.S. foreign policy. "Broadly speaking, when it comes to America's engagement with the rest of the world, it is important that the military is -- and is clearly seen to be -- in a supporting role to civilian agencies," he said.

In a speech interrupted several times by rousing applause, Gates told the audience at a dinner organized by the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign that America cannot simply "kill or capture our way to victory" over the long term.

"What the Pentagon calls 'kinetic' operations should be subordinate to measures to promote participation in government, economic programs to spur development, and efforts to address the grievances that often lie at the heart of insurgencies and among the discontented from which terrorists recruit," he said.

In remarks imbued with a spirit of cooperation between the departments of Defense and State -- a relationship that in the past has been marked by contention, Gates said -- the defense secretary hailed his working relationship with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who had presented him the group's leadership award earlier in the evening.

"Our diplomatic leaders -- be they in ambassadors' suites or on the seventh floor of the State Department -- must have the resources and political support needed to fully exercise their statutory responsibilities in leading American foreign policy," Gates said.

This year's presidential budget proposal accounts for the addition of 1,100 Foreign Service officers -- the general practitioners of American diplomacy -- in addition to 300 U.S. Agency for International Development personnel and a response corps of civilian experts that can deploy on short notice, requests that Gates praised.

He also expressed optimism that an increase in the civilian foreign affairs budget is receiving support on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers yesterday introduced bipartisan legislation that would triple humanitarian spending in Pakistan.

For far too long, Gates said, America's civilian institutions of diplomacy and development -- which lack the ready-made political constituency enjoyed by major weapons systems -- have been chronically undermanned and underfunded in comparison to defense spending.

"I cannot pretend to know right dollar amount," Gates said, referring to the budgetary needs of civilian institutions, "I know it's a good deal more than the one percent of the federal budget that it is right now.

"A steep increase of these capabilities is well within reach, as long as there is the political will and the wisdom to do it," he added.

With invigorated emphasis on counterinsurgency, which includes operations that combine elements of military and civilian affairs, U.S. servicemembers are performing functions that formerly were the exclusive province of civilian agencies and institutions, Gates said.

"This has led to concern among many organizations ... about what's seen as a creeping 'militarization' of some aspects of America's foreign policy," he said.

But Gates added that this scenario can be avoided by putting in place the right leadership, adequate funding of civilian agencies, effective coordination on the ground, and a clear understanding of the authorities, roles, and missions of military versus civilian efforts, and how they are able, or unable, to fit together.

"We know that at least in the early phases of any conflict, contingency, or natural disaster, the U.S. military -- as has been the case throughout our history -- will be responsible for security, reconstruction, and providing basic sustenance and public services," he said.

"Building the security capacity of other nations through training and equipping programs has emerged as a core and enduring military requirement," he continued, "though none of these programs go forward without the approval of the secretary of state."

Gates added that the U.S. will always need Foreign Service officers to conduct professional diplomacy, advance American interests, and strengthen the nation's international partnerships. Likewise, he said, barring a radical change in human nature, the U.S. will require military members to deter and, if necessary, defeat aggression from hostile states and forces indefinitely.

"The challenge facing our institutions," he said "is to adapt to new realities while preserving those core competencies and institutional traits that have made them so successful in the past."

Gates Recommends McKinley to Be Guard's First Four-Star General

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

July 16, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has recommended the Air National Guard's director for a promotion that would make him the first four-star general in National Guard history. Pending nomination by President Bush and confirmation by the Senate, Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig R. McKinley would become the chief of the National Guard Bureau.

McKinley would succeed Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum. Gates has recommended that the president nominate Blum to be deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command.

"General McKinley is well qualified for this important and historic assignment," Gates said during a news conference in the Pentagon today. "He has held command positions at every level of the Air Force in his 34 years of military service."

As director of the Air Guard, he has been responsible for overseeing all policies, plans and programs affecting more than 104,000 Guardsmen in 88 flying units and 200 geographically separated bases in the United States and its territories, Gates said.

Blum has served as the chief of the National Guard Bureau for five years. It has been a time of wrenching change for Guardsmen, Gates said, and Blum has pushed for better training, equipment and support for the demanding range of missions the Guard has taken on since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

The independent Commission on the National Guard and Reserves recommended the chief of the National Guard Bureau be a four-star position. Congress agreed and made the recommendation law as part of the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Act.

"The elevation of the National Guard chief to four stars recognizes the enhanced importance of the Guard to America's overall national defense," Gates said. "In recent years, ... the National Guard has transformed from an often neglected strategic reserve to a force that is an indispensible component of the operational military."

The promotion also recognizes that the chief will serve as a bridge for the states to the federal government and the active components of the military.

McKinley "will provide the leadership that will take the National Guard to the next level," Blum said in a written message to Guard units today. "He is a competent, caring, and proven leader."

The transition to McKinley will be seamless. "I am confident Craig's nomination will posture our joint organizations -- the Army National Guard and Air National Guard units -- to remain ready, reliable, accessible and essential to our nation," Blum wrote.

McKinley received his Air Force commission after completing the ROTC program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours, primarily in the T-38, F-106, F-16 and F-15. Additionally, General McKinley has been pilot in command in the C-131 and C-130 aircraft.

MILITARY CONTRACTS July 16, 2008

Navy

Guam Shipyard, Santa Rita, Guam, is being awarded a $11,503,941 firm-fixed-price contract for a 55-calendar-day regular overhaul of Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Ericsson (T-AO 194). Ericsson is one of Military Sealift Command's 14 fleet replenishment oilers that provide underway replenishment of fuel to Navy combat ships at sea. The contract includes options that, if exercised, would bring the total value to $14,070,253. Work will be performed in Santa Rita, Guam, and is expected to be completed by October 15, 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a sole source procurement. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Fleet Support Command, Ship Support Unit Guam, a field activity of Military Sealift Command, is the contracting authority (N40446-08-C-0001).

HDR Architecture, Inc., Chicago, Ill., is being awarded a $10,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for architectural and engineering service in Great Lakes, Ill. The work to be performed provides for partial design packages; total design packages; design-build RFP packages; repairs and alterations to existing facilities, collateral equipment lists; project preliminary hazard analysis; obtaining permits and regulatory approvals; surveys (topographic and boundary); soil investigations, comprehensive interior design; contractor submittal review; construction inspection, observation and consultation; Operations & Maintenance Support Information (OMSI); environmental assessments; fire protection; anti-terrorism/force protection evaluation and design; designs for phased construction; and as-built drawing preparation. Some projects will require design in the metric system. Firms must be able to accept project-related work that requires comprehensive asbestos/lead paint surveying and provide a design that will support the removal, demolition, and disposal of these and other hazardous materials in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. This contract contains four option years which, if exercised, will bring the total contract value to $50,000,000. Work will be performed in Naval Station Great Lakes, Great Lakes, Ill., and work is expected to be completed July 2009. The seed project is for a storm sewer evaluation survey. The firm fixed price task order is being awarded for $883,392 and is expected to be completed by July, 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website,with eight proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Midwest, Great Lakes, Ill., is the contracting activity (N40083-08-C-0065).

ViaSat, Carlsbad, Calif., is being awarded a $9,786,000 firm-fixed-price order for Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) Pre-Production Terminals. The MIDS JTRS terminal is a Software Communications Architecture (SCA) compliant upgrade to the MIDS-Low Volume Terminal (MIDS-LVT) that supports legacy and advanced networking JTRS compliant waveforms enabling integrated navigation, identification, voice and data communications, information security, networking and networking applications to meet Department of Defense (DoD) software defined radio initiatives and requirements. Work will be performed in Carlsbad, Calif., (35 percent), in various other sites within the U.S. (65 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order was competitively procured with two proposals solicited and two offers received. The synopsis was released via the Federal Business Opportunities web site. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N00039-00-D-2101).

Aviation Systems Engineering Co., Inc., Lexington Park, Md., is being awarded a $7,967,540 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aircraft equipment demonstration support to test cutting edge Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) systems during flight demonstrations and Fleet exercises, including state-of-the-art passive and active non-acoustic ASW sensors. Work will be performed in Richmond, Va., and is expected to be completed in July 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; five offers were received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00421-08-D-0017).

Army

Ttec and Tesero, Norcross, Ga., were awarded on Jul. 15, 2008, a $64,746,000 firm-fixed price contract for the design and construction of a vehicle maintenance instruction facility, library and oil storage buildings. Work will be performed at Fort Benning, Ga., and is expected to be completed by Jan. 11, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four bids were solicited on Feb. 21, 2008, and four bids were received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Savannah, Ga., is he contracting activity (W912HN-07-D-0058).

Boh Bros. Contruction Co., LLC, New Orleans, La., was awarded on Jul. 14, 2008, a $62,281,391 firm-fixed price contract for Hero Pump Station fronting protection as a part of the Hurrican Protection Project. Work will be performed in Jefferson Parish, La., and is expected to be completed by Aug. 20, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Web bids were solicited on May 2, 2008, and five bids were received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, La., is the contracting activity (W912P8-08-C-0070).

Kennell and Associates, Inc., Falls Church, Va., was awarded on Jul. 15, 2008, a $26,628,683 cost-plus award fee contract for policy and statistical analysis services. Work will be performed in Falls Church, Va., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Web bids were solicited on Apr. 21, 2008, and one bid was received. U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Fort Detrick, Md. is the contracting activity (W81XWH-08-C-0096).

Technologists Inc., Arlington, Va., was awarded on July 13, 2008, a $13,308,991 firm-fixed price contract for the design and construction of the Afghan National Army Class II IV VIII Logistics Depot, Kabul, Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Kabul, Afghanistan, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 10, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Web bids were solicited on April 14, 2008, and 30 bids were received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Afghanistan, is the contracting activity (W917PM-08-C-0069).

Remington Arms Co., Ilion, N.Y., was awarded on Jul. 15, 2008, a $12,087,430 firm-fixed price contract for M24 sniper weapon system and contractor support kits. Work will be performed in Ilion, N.Y., and is expected to be completed by Feb. 27, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One bid was solicited on Mar. 13, 2008. Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52H09-08-C-0115).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

General Petroleum, Rancho Dominguez, Calif. is being awarded a maximum $33,874,800.00 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for deliveries of marine gas oil. Other locations of performance are in Eureka and Oxnard, Calif. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Federal Civilian Agencies and Coast Guard. There were originally 13 proposals solicited with two responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance is Aug. 31, 2011. The contracting activity is Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-06-D-0358).

Gates Highlights Role of Diplomacy, Development in U.S. Foreign Policy

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

July 16, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates yesterday said diplomacy and development should lead American efforts abroad, and he warned against a "creeping militarization" of U.S. foreign policy. "Broadly speaking, when it comes to America's engagement with the rest of the world, it is important that the military is -- and is clearly seen to be -- in a supporting role to civilian agencies," he said.

In a speech interrupted several times by rousing applause, Gates told the audience at a dinner organized by the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign that America cannot simply "kill or capture our way to victory" over the long term.

"What the Pentagon calls 'kinetic' operations should be subordinate to measures to promote participation in government, economic programs to spur development, and efforts to address the grievances that often lie at the heart of insurgencies and among the discontented from which terrorists recruit," he said.

In remarks imbued with a spirit of cooperation between the departments of Defense and State -- a relationship that in the past has been marked by contention, Gates said -- the defense secretary hailed his working relationship with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who had presented him the group's leadership award earlier in the evening.

"Our diplomatic leaders -- be they in ambassadors' suites or on the seventh floor of the State Department -- must have the resources and political support needed to fully exercise their statutory responsibilities in leading American foreign policy," Gates said.

This year's presidential budget proposal accounts for the addition of 1,100 Foreign Service officers -- the general practitioners of American diplomacy -- in addition to 300 U.S. Agency for International Development personnel and a response corps of civilian experts that can deploy on short notice, requests that Gates praised.

He also expressed optimism that an increase in the civilian foreign affairs budget is receiving support on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers yesterday introduced bipartisan legislation that would triple humanitarian spending in Pakistan.

For far too long, Gates said, America's civilian institutions of diplomacy and development -- which lack the ready-made political constituency enjoyed by major weapons systems -- have been chronically undermanned and underfunded in comparison to defense spending.

"I cannot pretend to know right dollar amount," Gates said, referring to the budgetary needs of civilian institutions, "I know it's a good deal more than the one percent of the federal budget that it is right now.

"A steep increase of these capabilities is well within reach, as long as there is the political will and the wisdom to do it," he added.

With invigorated emphasis on counterinsurgency, which includes operations that combine elements of military and civilian affairs, U.S. servicemembers are performing functions that formerly were the exclusive province of civilian agencies and institutions, Gates said.

"This has led to concern among many organizations ... about what's seen as a creeping 'militarization' of some aspects of America's foreign policy," he said.

But Gates added that this scenario can be avoided by putting in place the right leadership, adequate funding of civilian agencies, effective coordination on the ground, and a clear understanding of the authorities, roles, and missions of military versus civilian efforts, and how they are able, or unable, to fit together.

"We know that at least in the early phases of any conflict, contingency, or natural disaster, the U.S. military -- as has been the case throughout our history -- will be responsible for security, reconstruction, and providing basic sustenance and public services," he said.

"Building the security capacity of other nations through training and equipping programs has emerged as a core and enduring military requirement," he continued, "though none of these programs go forward without the approval of the secretary of state."

Gates added that the U.S. will always need Foreign Service officers to conduct professional diplomacy, advance American interests, and strengthen the nation's international partnerships. Likewise, he said, barring a radical change in human nature, the U.S. will require military members to deter and, if necessary, defeat aggression from hostile states and forces indefinitely.

"The challenge facing our institutions," he said "is to adapt to new realities while preserving those core competencies and institutional traits that have made them so successful in the past."

Department of Defense Partners With Universities For Social Science Research

The DoD has launched a university-based social science initiative to support basic research in topic areas of importance to current and future U.S. national security.

The initiative, called Minerva, will support multi- and interdisciplinary and cross-institutional efforts addressing a range of social science topic areas. It will bring together universities, research institutions and individual scholars into a partnership to tackle topics of interest to DoD. For example, DoD could pursue topics such as foreign military and technology research, terrorism or cultural studies. The initial funding is $10-20 million annually.

The objectives include:

-To foster and improve the Defense Department's social science intellectual capital and ability to understand and address security challenges.

-To support and develop basic research and expertise within the social sciences community in subject areas which may provide insight to current and future challenges.

-To improve the Defense Department's relationship with the social science community.

To achieve the secretary of defense's vision, DoD will pilot a number of approaches for engaging the social science community. This multi-pronged strategy will enable the department to solicit a broad range of proposals from the social science community and to leverage the expertise and infrastructures of a wide range of existing mechanisms for funding basic research.

The Minerva initiative will have several components to solicit and manage proposals. The first of these has been released through a DoD broad agency announcement (BAA). Additionally, DoD signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Science Foundation on July 2, 2008, to work together on a range of projects related to DoD's Minerva initiative, which might include a solicitation of proposals. Submission to DoD's open BAA will not preclude any offerer from submitting proposals to future solicitations.

Remarks by Secretary of Defense Gates on the Minerva initiative may be found at http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1228 .

The currently open DoD BAA may be found at: http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?Action=6&Page=8 .